Effie4Bass

If I remember correctly, which at my age is always questionable, back in the late 80's or early 90's there was an article in a boating magazine about outboard motor water pumps. It stated that the cooling stream coming from a running outboard was not a reliable indicator that the engine was being adequately cooled. It seems they had tested the amount of psi it took to create a cooling stream and then the psi to actually run the cooling water through the water jacket of the engine. I think there tests revealed that it took 3.5 psi to get a stream and approx. 7 psi to cool the engine. This was some time ago and I'm wondering if things have improved to the point that the cooling stream is now a true indicator that the engine is actually being cooled? Of course some engines had high heat warning horns but as in auto engine over heating warnings it comes to late to save the engine!!! Any comments or knowledge of the topic? Thanx in advance.

Here in Maine we are restricted to non-lead weights of any kind rather sinker, jig head, ned rig, jig. So we have a little bit of a difficulty for some disciplines of fishing: i.e., mushroom jigs and mojo weights. Just today, I may have found a supply for mojo weights but haven't called them as yet. Just sayin.

It has been some time since I have been here mainly because of health reasons causing me to miss all of the 2017 season here in Maine. If any of you know Maine the season is relatively short - April to October depending on ice out and ice up. If we get five months were very lucky. Now the reason for my post: I currently have a 90 Yamaha on a 2002 18 foot PolarKraft aluminum "High Performance", "Pro Bass" boat with Bay Star hydraulic steering. I'm repowering with a Yamaha SHO VMax 115 and the dealer tells me I should upgrade to a Sea Star system. Information for Bay Star says it has the capability to handle a 150 HP outboard. Has anyone used a Bay Star on a 150HP outboard and have you had any hydraulic steering problems. I think my dealer is thinking about blown seals or oil leaks. I figure I should stay with the Bay Star unit and if it fails then do the upgrade. Does any one have any input???? Thanks in advance. Fred Oh Oh - no spell check!!!!!!!

Thanks slonezp. But in technospeak what changes make it high output? ?

In the Yamaha outboard lineup, for 115 hp and up there is a grey model and then there is a model that is an SHO/VMAX.. Can anyone explain the differences to me other than the paint job? Does one have a different rpm range, is one built to be more rugged than the other or are the differences more subtle? Thanks for your input, Fred

In my previous I asked a modorater if it was ok to enlist the helo of all the members and did not receive a reply so I guess I can do it. I am a Lund enthusiast and like a lot of people I thougt the grass was greener on the other side of the lake. I bought a PolarKraft but was unhappy with the bow casting deck space. I then bought a PolarKraft 2002 HP18PB (High Performance, 18, Pro Bass. It is an all welded hull. It is rated for a 150 but the budget dictated a 90 Yamaha. By the way, I also love Yammys. This boat rides like a car without springs!!! Very rough in a relatively small chop, about 1' to 2'. My back isn't what it used to be so it causes some discomfort. My financial situation may change for the better soon so I've started looking at pre-Brunswick Lunds. I've owned four from a Tyee Grand Sport with a 130 Yammy (more family boat than fishing boat, an Adventure Fisherman tiller and wouln't you know I bought it the year after Lund stopped offering steering consoles,. I guess tlhey changed the substructure and an add on console did not meet NMMA approval. I was stationed in Vermont at the time and wanted a back troller and I thought when I retired to Maine I could add a console but I was sol, as they say. I've had two Rebels. All of these boats have performed well on rough water and never a loose rivet. The best thing about the hullls is when you come down off of a wave the hull does not hog at all. Meaning it doesn't shoot to port or starboard, always hold the course. Which was really quite amazing at the time. I imagine a lot of hulls have improved to perform similarly. I have been searching the internet, craig's lists and other used boats for sale by owners lists in search of specific Lund models. I've found that people really keep their Lunds and pass them down to the next genration. My needs are: pre-Brunswick, Length 17'-18', starboard side console (I suppose I could remove a port side console), "no" walkthrough windshields, a good sized bow deck. I am willing to repower it and replace the trailer. But I will have to suffer the cost of shipping to Maine, which I'm willing to do. Some of my preferred models: `94 1790 Pro Bass, `95, `96, `97 1800 Pro Bass SE, `94 1790 Pro bass; `94, `95, `98 1700 Pro Angler SS. I think you get the idea. So If any of you members or visitors see one for sale in a local newspaper, local craig's list, at a dealership, in a front yard I would like any informaiton to contact the seller/dealer that you can provide. i.e; Name, phone number, e-mail address actually any way I can get in touch with the seller. Most of what I've found on Craig's Lists and dealer lists have been listed for many months or have been sold but not taken off whatever list they were on. So the internet has been unreliable in getting up to date information. Any help you can provide is more than appreciated. Thanks in advance, Fred

I guess my question would be for a moderator. I would like to know if I could enlist the membership in my search for a certain brand boat, a specific model and from specific years,, and to which forum would I post the request? Also, I've noticed some site changes so where do I go to now to sign in/out??? Thanks, Fred.

My two cents worth.......The end all be all boils down to this. The only function of the boat is to keep the water out; however, the function of the engine is not only to get you there but to bring you back home!!! I've always bought what I thought I could afford with the possibility of a re-power in the near future. So I spend a little less on the boat and usually get a better engne. My current boat is a 2002 PolarKraft bass boat I found last fall. This spring I repowered with a Yammy 90 4 stroke. The boat is rated for a 150 hp but the wallet couldn't stand that big of a hit. I'm getting 34 mph (gps) and that is fast enough to put bugs in my teeth. Also fast enough to get me to where I want to be. I know it will get me back and it has a 6 year warrantee. Now if i could just stop hitting rocks just under the surface I'd be all right. Our lakes in Maine have stayed very shallow this past summer.

I have searched all the rules I can find and cannot find anything related to the ability to edit one of my posts. Is it possible? If it is how do I do it? Thanks for your help...The. Dummy (aka:Effie4Bass). Regards, Fred

I'm in need of a VariMAX 24v head assembly. I purchased this motor fm Cabela's in 2009. It is model number 9B847018, the part number is 879364T06. I don't know for sure the year this series of motor was dropped from the Motorguide line up but they have stopped stocking repair parts already. On the motorguide websight I can search for service centers within 150 miles of my location. Well, I'm in central Maine and there is not a lot of anything, letl along bass boat equipment service centers, within 150 miles! I e-mailed Motorguide and asked for a list of service centers around the nation but they do not have a list available to send to me. They insist that I just put in city, state names and search within 100 miles of each until I find one. I wondering if any of ya'll could give me the names and phone numbers of any motorguide service centers in your locales. Or maybe you know of a trolling motor repair shop that might have some left over parts or parts motors. I won't be shipping my trolling motor to anybody but calling to find out if they have any left over head assemblies from the time this series was made. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Effie4Bass Got to come up with a more appropriate screen name.

I have just purchased a 2002 18' PolarKraft aluminum bass boat with a built in 27 gal gas tank. It came with a mid-80's Mercury 115 hp outboard. Of course it is neither 4 stroke or oil injected. Therefore any gas that was used is pre-mix before it goes into the tank. The tank is almos 3/4 full. I plan to repower the boat with a four new stroke, fuel injected outboard this winter and won't be able to run out the gas that's in the tank. So, I will be pumping out the mixed gas. My question is: How do I get out the residue of the gas and oil mixture that adheres to the interior top, bottom and sides of the built in tank? I have some 100 octane E0 gasoline available to me and am wondering if I can use five or ten gals in the tank and then do a back and forth dance with the boat hooked to my vehicle to slosh the mixture free gasoline throughout the tank and pump that out, do a refill with regular gas, and have clean enough gasoline so as not to do any harm to the new four stroke? Any input would be appreciated. Fred

I have found an 18 foot PolarKraft HP180PB that is rated for a 150 HP outboard for sale. I've liked PolarKraft ever since I was stationed in Norfolk, VA when PolarKraft was king of the jon boat genre. At they time the were made by a family in Olive Branch, Mississippi. I am asking if anyone out there has ever owned the above mentioned boat or has had a ride in this particular boat and has some comments to make on how it handles on the water? Any information would be a great help. By the looks of the build of this boat and it's weight it seems like it should handle almost any water with ease with no porpoiseing or chine walk. However, I'm looking for someone who has had experience with this boat's behavior for comments. Thanks in advance, Effie

This spring I purchased some Berkley original moss green fireline in 20 pound test. I realize it was not new even though it was an unopened package because Berkley stopped making this several years ago. So what I bought had been sitting on somebody's shelf for a couple of years. When using the line I noticed right off that I had lost some casting distance compared to some I had purchased when it was manufactured and was still on the reel. My reels are all Pinnacles and they are excellent reels. So I know the reel was not the problem. Has anyone noticed if this particular Berkley line becomes sticky if it is not used within a certain amount of time after manufacture? Do all braid lines become sticky is they stay in their original package for a couple of years? It think it is the only reason I lost casting distance. If you've had a similar experience with this or any other braid please let me know. Thanks, Fred

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. I'll keep them all in mind. Although I do stay away from fishing during thunderstorms as I came real close to meeting my maker and I'm not about to give him another chance. Sorry hear about your brother big bill. My brother and I were 5 years apart (just us two boys in the family) and we never really knew each other, which is quite sad. I can imagine how much you do miss him. Thanks for sharing, all of you. I used to be able to catch bass but somehow at age 69 the skill seems to have vacated the premises. My catch rate has deteriorated ever since I bought a house. When I'm fishing I can't help but be thinking about everything I could be doing at home and when I'm home doing the homeowner thing I think about how nice it would beto be on the water. I like being on the water even it I'm not catching anything just enjoying watching the loons, eagles and ospreys fish. They have far better success than I do!!!! I've been retired for 20 years and have yet to fish as often aa I did during my 27 years in the Navy!!! Thanks for all the info and thanks for bass resource.

I live in Maine and we have a lot of cold and warm fronts move through during the summer months. Even some that are just hours apart. I am greatly puzzled because, generally, these fronts are forebears of "lock jaw" amongst the smallmouth and largemouth populations. How do you guys catch fish during these periods? Thanks, Fred.

As some of you have stated in other fishing line posts, I now have to switch to hi-vis monofilaments in order to watch my line. I've read all of the posts about fishing equipment looking for specific info on hi-vis monofilaments but could not find answers to my questions. Recently I've purchased Maxima and Stren Hi-Vis yellow, well actually yellow and gold respectively. I have spooled up a spinning reel (stren) and a baitcasting reel (maxima), as is my habit after spooling line I'll go out in the boat and trail the line behind the boat to get rid of any twist that occurred while spooling. In fact I did just that this morning. Something I discovered which might be pertinent for people cogimatating changing to hi-vis is that, of the two brands, only Stren floats, Maxima floats for a while but then sinks like a sinking rapala albeit a little slower. I am considering changing my beloved Berkley moss green fireling to a hi-vis braid but no manufacturers describe their vi-vis braids as floaters or sinkers. Does anybody know which hi-vis yellow braid brands do float for a day of fishing? Oh, and the braids should maintain their color for the life of the line. Thanks in advance to all who happen across this subject. Effie4Bass In Vacation Land

I have been reading a lot of the forums on this outstanding website. Lots of good information and inventive, creative ideas. Congrats to those who come up with new tactics, modifications, methods, and ideas. I haven't had an original in I don't know how long. I keep hearing about this reel magician by the name of Mike from DVT(?). How do get in touch with him?, does he have a website?. Thanks for any and all relevant replies. Fred

Thank you fellow bassers for all of the input. As for looking back at the history of my sites on the computer it is set up to delete all history upon closing logging off! But I've come to believe whoever made this lure had discontinued the color and was just selling off remaining inventory.. Thanks again for all y'alls help. Fred

A more accurate description is as follows: A well detailed body like a Savage 3D craw, open pincers like a Berkley Fight'n Bug, an overall coloration very similar to the savage 3D Spring Craw's legs and claws with the shade of yellow as the ends of the pincers and a little flat red thrown in, but not to much. I would estimate the size to be between 3 inches and 4 1/2 inches and they definitely are either floaters or the claws a made to float. Don't be sorry Sam, I felt the same way!!!!! Hope this is a little better. I think my search term variations are starting to pay off, it just involves a lot of time in the saddle when I should be respooling reals and buying other lures! Effie 4 Bass aka Fred

Whilst I was putting together this springs tackle order I came across a crawfish soft bait that had normal looking, fighting claws, It was in a color called: Lobster. I failed to bookmark the page and now I can't find it again. I have been through every brand and color that Tackle warehouse carries without any luck. I have queried Google with every combination of words that I can think of to search and have had absolutely no luck. Does anybody know the lure I'm talking about or have any suggestions?. Assistance would be much appreciated. Thanks, Effie4Bass

Thanks for the chatterbait connection re: the blade contacting the head and making a clicking sound. I believe this would be a perfect crawfish imitation bait as most crawfish shells will make a clicking sound when they are scooting backwards. I really thank you for the infor on the "bait monkey". I have wondered for years who was picking my pocket every spring. I could have kept my cc card in my tightee whitees and still get picked just walking through Cabela's. My wife sez she has seen him on my back but only when she's paying the visa bill. But I keep looking in the mirror to see him on my back and have failed to do so. Tight lines.